Port Blair

PORT BLAIR

Port Blair is the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India situated in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (tehsil) of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South Andaman, and is the territory’s only notified town. It houses the headquarters of the Andaman and Nicobar Police and the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the first integrated tri-command of the armed forces of India.

It also serves as the entry point for visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port Blair is connected with mainland India by both air and sea. It is a 2-hour flight from mainland India to Port Blair, but it takes 3–4 days by sea to reach Chennai, Kolkata or Vishakhapatnam. Air connectivity to Port Blair is available from Chennai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar and Vishakhapatnam. All flights bound to Andaman and Nicobar Islands land at the Veer Savarkar International Airport. Sea connectivity is available from Chennai, Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam are embarked in Haddo Wharf. It is home to several museums and a major naval base INS Jarawa of the Indian Navy, along with sea and air bases of the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Air Force. Port Blair is also famous for the historic Cellular Jail and other small islands like Corbyn’s Cove, Wandoor, Ross Island, Viper Island etc. which were once home to British colonists.

As of October 2017, it is still not possible to fly to Port Blair from outside India. While international connections have been discussed for many years, particularly to nearby BKK Bangkok and HKT Phuket, direct international flights are not available.

All major departments of the Local and Central Government function from there.

Port Blair has been selected as one of the cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission.